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Lower Columbia
The Federal Kingdom of Lower Columbia is a North American nation located primarily along the Columbia River, near the Pacific Ocean. It is also a founding member of the League of Nations. Geography The heartland of Lower Columbia lies, unsurprisingly, along the lower portion of the Columbia River, from about the middle of the river's famous gorge west to the Pacific Ocean. The country also includes a large portion of the Cascade Range, the entirety of the Snake River Valley, the coastal areas surrounding Puget Sound, the arid regions east of the Cascades, and part of the Canadian prairies and American Great Plains. Climatic conditions vary depending on what part of the country one is in. West of the Cascades, it is mostly a temperate rainforest, with high annual rainfall, thick vegetation, warm summers and cool winters. Further east, conditions more closely resemble a steppe climate, with lower annual rainfall and a wider range of temperatures. The most common natural hazards in the nation include volcanic eruptions (the active volcanos of Mount Hood, Mount Rainier, and Mount Saint Helens all lie within the Lower Columbian heartland), earthquakes, and flooding. Less common are severe storms and tsunamis. History Before founding: 1800s-2065 Beginning about 220 years before the proclamation of Lower Columbian self-rule, in the mid-19th century, the Columbia River Valley experienced an influx of persecuted Christians, mostly from Europe and East Asia, who sought safety in the area. They increased the populations of existing cities, but also founded many settlements of their own, including the country's current largest city, Nyhaven (in 1885). This wave of immigration continued for decades; as it continued, the secular natives became increasingly concerned. Tensions between the established population and the newcomers became more and more strained, although there are few recorded instances of hostility dating from this time. In 2062, three years before sovereignty was proclaimed, the more than five million inhabitants of the river valley agreed that it was time to govern themselves. They chose a strong, seemingly natural-born leader, known today simply as Edward, to be their first king. Edward accepted, although he did not much like the concept of wielding absolute power. Soon after his coronation at Astoria, he sought individuals across the region who were willing to assist him in the fledgling government. After three years, they convened in Nyhaven with the intent of drafting a complete constitution. Over the spring and summer of 2065, they developed what is now the current form of Lower Columbian national government, with King Edward presiding over, though not actually voting in, the national Parliament. They also agreed that no existing city should be chosen as the new national capital, and selected a low-lying plain several miles west of Nyhaven as the site for the new capital of Kendall. For the first fifteen years of the city's construction, they agreed that Parliament and the king would rule from Nyhaven, and then move to Kendall. On September 30, the first parliamentary elections were held nationwide; the following day, the results were announced and the first national government was proclaimed. Since then, October 1 has been celebrated as Proclamation Day, the effective date of independence for Lower Columbia. First dynasty, the House of Nyhaven: 2065-2163 The first priority of many citizens of the new nation was reshaping its demographics according to their own preferences. By this time, most of the population was both Christian and conservative; the more liberal denizens were then ill-liked. Several people took it upon themselves to travel the nation recommending a rather revolutionary course of action: purify the land in the name of God and the King. Their message did not fall on deaf ears; in fact, they garnered widespread support for the concept of "purification". In 2069, in a national referendum, an overwhelming majority of the population voted in favor of a ten-year program to expel liberals and other so-called "undesirables" from Lower Columbia. This was no blank slate for widespread terror and genocide, however; rather than engage in a liberal witch-hunt, the members of Parliament who drafted the referendum placed strict limits on who could be considered for expulsion from the country and when the use of force was permissible. The greatest use of force committed in the course of the Purification campaign was the razing of Portland; it was widely agreed that the city was too far-gone to remain as it was, so once all willing citizens had departed, the fledgling military and a number of volunteers destroyed the old city in the summer of 2072. New Portland was established shortly thereafter, not far down the Willamette River from the former downtown center of Portland. The campaign was concluded in 2079 - just in time for the national government to move to Kendall. The remainder of King Edward's rule was uneventful. He was, however, widely mourned following his death in 2096. His son was then crowned in the new National Cathedral, making him King David I. The main focus of his reign was territorial expansion: he twice led campaigns to extend the borders of the country, first up the Snake River (2108-15) and subsequently along the Pacific coast (2124-33), as far as the present-day Californian border. Unfortunately, at the conclusion of the Pacific Coast Campaign, the king, who led the military forces in person, suffered from a wound which proved fatal. David I's successor, King Charles, was quite content to maintain the status quo during his 26 years in power. He presided over the first few Parliaments dominated by the Libertarians. His son Michael I, however, is much more widely remembered, though not as fondly. Following his accession in 2159, little was seen of him. He focused on his enigmatic expansion to the royal palace, with its strange architecture and high towers, while delegating many of his royal responsibilities to his staff. Furthermore, he presided over the first Progressive-dominated Parliament, which is infamous for creating Lower Columbia's first economic crisis with its rise in taxes and anti-business legislature. The people became more alarmed when news of this crisis was first publicized. They overwhelmingly voted Conservative in the next parliamentary election, held in 2163. That Parliament exiled Michael I, elected Theodore to replace him as king, and repealed the anti-business laws, all in the same year. Second dynasty, the House of Salem: 2163-2281 Like David I before him, King Theodore focused on expanding Lower Columbia's borders, this time pushing eastwards to the Continental Divide in the 2170s and 2180s. The new land, rich in resources, helped the economy recover some of the energy it had lost under King Michael I. Theodore is best remembered, however, for opening Lower Columbia to foreign nations; previous kings starting with Edward had adopted an isolationistic policy in order to safeguard the country in its early years, but King Theodore judged this to no longer be necessary. His first diplomatic and trade missions to other Catlandatopian nations were conducted in the early 2170s, before the start of his military campaigns. After his death in 2132, his son John was crowned. King John presided over a second progressivization period, much like that which Michael I had encouraged. John, however, sought to stop or at least slow the process; unfortunately, Parliament often disregarded his admonitions. After the nation's GDP per capita reached its historically lowest level, though, citizens recognized what he had been warning about and voted for a Conservative-Libertarian coalition government in the 2204 elections. Within two years, the economy was well on its way to unprecedented levels of prosperity. Unlike John, who had been a pacifist, his successor King David II favored territorial gains. Since Michael I had established a rival kingdom at Upper Columbia after his exile, the new king sought to eliminate this potential threat. First, however, he wanted to eliminate much of the governmental burden that previous kings had created. Two years after his coronation, in 2232, he inspired Parliament to drastically reduce government spending and the bureaucracy, resulting in the smallest government in state history. Twelve years later, he led the Lower Columbian military over the border with Upper Columbia, by the shores of Lake Charles (which was formed by the Grand Coulee Dam). After another twelve years, in 2255, Upper Columbia was no more, its territory absorbed into Lower Columbia. In 2265, David II's son Andrew came to the throne. He was a highly reclusive king, and many feared he would be similar to Michael I. However, this turned out not to be the case. Sixteen years later, however, everyone was at a loss to explain King Andrew's sudden disappearance. With no better option, Parliament voted to replace him with King Tristan, thus beginning the third and current royal dynasty. Third dynasty, the House of Astoria: 2281-present Tristan was somewhat more fanatical than his predecessors; this, coupled with his desire to bring "greater glory" to the nation, led him to invade and conquer the previously-untouched region north of the Lower Columbian heartland, the coast of Puget Sound and the city of Vancouver, at the turn of the 24th century. These areas harbored many liberals, some descendants of those who had been expelled during the Purification some two centuries earlier. As such, a second purification campaign was needed and implemented in the new territories. However, this second campaign was less radical than the first, and no cities were destroyed in the process. King Tristan's successor, Michael II, was crowned in 2311 and is, by far, the most famous and beloved king in Lower Columbia's history. For much of his reign, he led a major campaign to improve the nation's cultural facilities and bolster a sense of a national culture and identity. He often spoke of Lower Columbia as a chosen nation, situated in the Pacific Northwest by God for a special purpose. In pursuit of this purpose, he expanded international relations, both within and beyond Catlandatopia. He also made the first international arms purchases, beginning trade relations with several major arms dealers. Furthermore, he used some of those weapons to expand into the Great Plains which had previously belonged to Montana, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Shortly before his death in 2359, Michael II abolished the national income taxes, cementing his reputation as Lower Columbia's greatest king. Since then, the main sources of government revenues have been the national sales tax and tariffs on imports. In light of the condition of non-renewable resources, recent kings have made moves toward minimizing or eliminating Lower Columbia's consumption of those goods. In the middle of his reign, King Adam, successor to Michael II, authorized the switch to completely renewable energy sources for the nation, focusing on safer, thorium-based versions of conventional nuclear power plants. More recently, the current king, Zachary, signed a law requiring the country's extensive automotive industry to replace all internal-combustion engines in its vehicles with electric or fuel-cell engines over the course of 20 years. In 2407, this move was finally completed. King Zachary has also expanded Lower Columbia's presence on the world stage. While past kings were more isolationist in nature, Zachary has ordered the Ministry of State to reach out to many foreign countries, and he has even signed the country onto new and preexisting alliances, perhaps most importantly the League of Nations. Demographics Race/Ethnicity *66% European **25% Scandinavian/Germanic ***7% Swedish ***5% German/Austrian ***4% Norwegian ***3% Danish ***3% Finnish ***2% Dutch **17% French **13.5% British/Celtic ***7% English ***4% Scottish ***1.5% Irish ***1.5% Welsh **8% Spanish/Italian/Greek (predominantly Italian and Greek) **2% Slavic/Russian **0.5% Magyar *16% East Asian **8% Japanese **5% Southeast Asian **2% Chinese **1% Korean *8% Jewish *6.5% African *4% Middle-Eastern **2% Arab **2% Persian *2% Indian/South Asian *0.5% Native Columbian Religion *83% Christian **22% Protestant **18% Catholic **18% Pentecostal/Charismatic **15% Non-denominational **9% Orthodox **1.5% Mormon/Latter-Day Saints *8% Jewish *2.5% Muslim *4% None/unorganized Government Organization Lower Columbia uses a federal system of government, with ten semi-autonomous states united under a national government. At all levels, there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. This structure is codified in the national constitution. Federal Government The head of state in Lower Columbia is the king. His main duty is to preside over Parliament, making him equivalent to its speaker. He does not vote in parliamentary sessions, though he can participate in debates. He also has the power to either sign bills into law or veto them. The position is hereditary and for life; however, Parliament can vote to exile the king and elect a new one if they feel it necessary for the benefit of the country. The king does not belong to any political party. To date, there have been 12 kings, with King Zachary being the 12th. He was crowned in 2385. Parliament is the national, unicameral legislative body, whose members are directly elected by citizens over the age of 21 who participate in the biennial elections. Each state is represented by 64 members of Parliament. MPs are limited to a maximum of five terms total, though they need not be consecutive. They each can belong to one of the country's three political parties, which are described below; or they can choose to be independent. Parliament can override a royal veto with a 2/3 majority vote. There are currently 640 MPs: 343 Conservatives, 233 Libertarians, 58 Progressives and five independents. A political party must have a simple majority of parliamentary seats to claim a mandate to govern; otherwise, the two parties with the most votes must form a coalition. As pluralities have historically been more common, so have coalition governments. The supreme judicial authority in the kingdom is the High Court. It is composed of nine justices, including the chief justice. Its main role is to review the laws of the nation and ensure thair compatibility with the constitution. State Governments Like the federal government, each state has an executive (its governor), a legislative body (the state assemblies), and a superior court. Governors and assemblymen are both elected to terms whose lengths vary by state. States are allowed a great deal of freedom in their self-governing abilities, with state assemblies making laws to regulate many areas of everyday life. However, all state laws must not contradict the constitutions of the nation or the state where they are enacted; if any party brings a case against the constitutionality of a law, that case may be decided by the High Court if the losing party appeals the verdict given by the state superior court. Political Parties Lower Columbian voters and members of Parliament can either be independent or belong to one of three political parties. Despite their names, all parties are rather conservative; the approximate centers of their political stances are given relative to the Political Compass. In addition, each party is traditionally associated with a color, which serves as its nickname in everyday speech. Conservative Party Political Compass center: Economic Right +8, Social Authoritarian +5 The Conservatives, associated with green, have held parliamentary power the most in Lower Columbia's history. Their stronghold and common affiliations are with the national heartland and Puget Sound. They are most often identified as war-hawks, since they support territorial expansion and increased defense spending. Libertarian Party Political Compass center: Economic Right +7, Social Libertarian 0 After the Conservatives, the Libertarians have had a madate to govern most often. They are frequently identified with the eastern regions and Vancouver. They are known as the Blue Party. Progressive Party Political Compass center: Economic Right +4, Social Authoritarian +2 The red Progressives are the least popular party in Lower Columbia, as the few times they have been in power have generally resulted in economic downturns. They are most popular in the mountains and the south. National Ministries The national government is also divided into several ministries or departments, each of which focuses on a particular aspect of governance. Their ministers form the king's Advisory Council, with which he meets frequently. The specific ministries and their heads are listed below, in order of significance. Ministry of Religion *Rev. Viktor de Blasis Ministry of Commerce *Ambrose Fulham Ministry of Justice *Attorney General Louis Pellini Ministry of Defense *John Retcliffe Ministry of the Treasury *Peter Hakamoto Ministry of Foreign Relations *Erik Kessler Ministry of Transportation *Adam Paulopoulos Ministry of Education *Prof. Marie Cansoir Ministry of Health *Dr. Helga Erikssen Ministry of Agriculture *Vittorio Romano, PhD. Ministry of Energy *Albert Rechtmann